Lake County sheriff's detective, drowned man's family clash over autopsy

April 13, 2009|By Stephen Hudak, Sentinel Staff Writer

FOUR CORNERS -- A Lake County sheriff's detective forged ahead with an investigation into the odd death of an Orthodox Jew found face-down in a vacation-home swimming pool, although the man's family thinks he committed suicide.

The man's family won a court order last week blocking a full autopsy on religious grounds.

Detective Clay Watkins had sought the forensic examination on Alexander Deutsch, 34, to rule out homicide and determine whether the New Jersey man was impaired by drugs when he died April 3 at the rental home on Heron Hill Street in south Lake.

"Committing suicide by drowning is a very unusual thing," said Watkins, a 20-year law-enforcement veteran and homicide investigator for the past eight years. "It's a suspicious death, and I want to make sure all of my bases are covered."

Deutsch was "profoundly disturbed" and had repeatedly attempted suicide, according to a psychiatrist's affidavit.

Watkins said Deutsch, who could swim, was found in the pool by a deputy conducting a "well-being" check on behalf of Joseph and David Deutsch, who began to worry after discovering their brother had bought a one-way plane ticket to Orlando.

The brothers, also Orthodox Jews, sought an injunction in Circuit Court to prevent the autopsy, arguing it violated Jewish religious law and tradition. Aides to U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Orlando, also intervened on behalf of the family.

"You're talking about a sincerely held religious belief that goes back more than 3,000 years," Grayson said.

The forensic procedure, which routinely involves blood testing and surgical examination of internal organs, is generally forbidden by Jewish law, according to an affidavit provided in support of the family by Rabbi Yosef Konikov of Orlando.

"Any invasive procedure is seen as a desecration," the rabbi wrote, explaining the religious objection. "Any delay in the burial and anything other than the burial of the entire body is seen as painful to the spirit and is contrary to Jewish law."

Michael Sanders, the medical examiner's director of operations, said Florida law required an autopsy.

Circuit Judge Mark Nacke mulled religious arguments and state law before ordering Wolf to perform a "minimally invasive" autopsy -- in the rabbi's presence. Watkins said the judge's order balanced the needs of the family and law enforcement.

Despite Deutsch's psychiatric history, which included a recent suicide attempt in a bathtub at a hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., Watkins said he needed to answer additional questions before ruling out foul play.

The detective said he had not found evidence that Deutsch had consumed an overdose of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, as he had in previous attempts.

"I'm also trying to determine if he was alone -- that nobody held him under the water," Watkins said.

A sheriff's report noted there were "no signs of a struggle or forced entry."